Several longtime observers of Dawg Night said that the 6-foot-5 Eason had the strongest arm on UGA’s practice fields since a kid from Texas named Stafford. But you didn’t have to be a scouting expert to reach that conclusion if you saw Eason on one play during the 7-on-7 drills:

The 6-foot-5 Eason, without even using proper throwing motion, simply flicked wrist and launched a beautiful 65-yard pass spiral down the field. Two of UGA’s current quarterbacks, Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta, were among the crowd of observers and looked at each in amazement.

Eason is UGA’s most celebrated QB recruit since Matthew Stafford. Eason is ranked as the nation’s No. 14 overall prospect, while Stafford was No. 6 in 2006 (Aaron Murray was No. 18 in 2009).

Here are five questions with Tony Eason, Jacob’s father, who played college football at Notre Dame (and not to be confused with the former NFL quarterback by the same name):

Why UGA? “(Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo) came out twice to watch him throw and offered him early. We did some homework on Georgia before we ever came to Dawg Night. Offensively, we liked everything Bobo does to develop his quarterbacks, and getting them into the league. And Georgia’s pro-style system really fits Jacob. For his future in football and for what he wants to do, he just felt like that was a great fit. Bobo did a great job of letting Jacob know how much he liked him … Jacob felt most love from Georgia over anybody. So we weren’t coming in cold to UGA. When we got to Georgia, everybody was professional and there wasn’t anything negative to be found. And then when we got to the academic side of things, he wants to major in sports management and not everybody has that. That’s not a popular degree on the West Coast, to be honest with you. There’s only one other school that has it (out of that schools we were looking at). And that’s about it. There’s an advantage there. If he goes to summer school, he can wind up getting a double major. So there are a lot of advantages academically at Georgia, and it’s a top 20-25 school in the public sector. It’s a great mix of school, football and location. It’s beautiful down here. I had no idea it would be this green. It’s awesome.”

Why commit this early in the recruiting process? “We talked about it as a family. We all sat down. Nobody had any reservations about Georgia. He just felt so good about it. It felt like home to him. We talked about what was the advantage of waiting. There really was no advantage to waiting. Georgia is the place he wanted to be at, and he wants to be quarterback for the Bulldogs. What’s the purpose of dragging your feet and letting somebody else have that opportunity? Being Georgia’s quarterback is he job he wants. So hey, he took the opportunity.”

Lake Stevens High School is exactly 2,724 miles from UGA. How did distance factor into the decision? “For Jacob, it’s not going to be a big deal at all. Wherever he’s going to college, he’s going there on a year-round basis. He’ll go to summer school, and he may come home once or twice a year. So that’s not that big of an issue for him. The only issue will be for when Mom and Dad want to come to a game. We’re going to have to fly to a game. I look at it like when I grew up in Washington and I went to Notre Dame. I think going away from home helps you become independent and become a man. He was looking for the best fit for him and his future. Georgia hit a homerun in every category. What’s the difference between jumping in a plane for four or five hours and driving in a car for five and six hours? We didn’t really see much of a factor in that at all. We’ve got a direct flight from Seattle to Atlanta. And I can rent a car and get to Athens in about an hour. When I went to Notre Dame, I had to fly into Chicago, and a lot of times I had to switch planes in Denver. And then when you get to Chicago, you have to take a two-hour trip on the bus to South Bend. So Athens, even though it’s further away, is more convenient. I love the direct flights. And I didn’t want distance to hold him up. This is his future you’re talking about, and what’s going to give him the best chance of succeeding in life. I want him to have a great college experience. All across the board, we all felt like Georgia was the right fit for him.”

Recruiting is all about the relationships: Bobo won over Eason by offering early and showing him he was serious with two visits to Washington state (AJC/Michael Carvell)

Recruiting is different than when you went to Notre Dame. Other colleges won’t give up until he signs in February 2016. Even though Jacob committed to UGA, will he still listen to other schools? “We talked about that. We’re not just throwing a commitment out here to lock something up. He’s all-in on Georgia. He wants to focus on high school now, and have a couple of good years of high school ball. When other college coaches call, it’s going to be really easy to say ‘I really appreciate you looking at me, but I’m committed to Georgia.’ That’s kind of the route I’m going. We didn’t want string anybody along, and play that type of game in recruiting. He wanted to Georgia, and he knew it. That’s why we pulled the trigger early.”

Who finished as runner-up to UGA? “He had like a top five or six. He had Washington, Florida State, Alabama, Stanford and Notre Dame in there. He had been to all those places. I know he’s very young, but he has seen all those schools and visited them. And he had done the tours. All the players he talked told him, ‘You’ll just know the right one when you visit all the schools because it will feel like home.’ And that’s the way it felt like at Georgia. He didn’t want to leave this weekend. He really didn’t want to leave from there.”

BONUS QUESTIONS

It looks like Jacob will try to be a leader for UGA’s 2016 class and recruit other top prospects? “I think you already saw that. Jacob and Big Ben were kind of a package deal. We came from Washington, and we came all the way down here to play in the SEC. Jacob was smart enough to make friends with Ben Cleveland, about the biggest left tackle you’re going to find. They roomed together at the Rivals camp in Baltimore, and have been texting back and forth. I think that’s a pretty unique situation with two of the top 10 guys in the country committing together. And they did that after dinner in the press box on Saturday. It was a great family type of atmosphere.”

A lot of people saw that play where Jacob flicked his wrist and the ball rocketed 65 yards. How strong is his arm? “Actually I chewed him out after that session. I was like ‘Dude, why didn’t you throw a completion?’ He said, ‘Dad, Bobo asked me to throw it deep. So I chucked it.’ So I said that was fine. I don’t know. He has a quick release for a big guy, and he can flick it 65 yards without blinking an eye. It’s very rare when you have to throw the ball that far down the field but I guess if you have to, you can. And the good thing is that the Bulldogs are going to find some specialty guys to run underneath those high bombs.”

How often will Jacob try to get back to UGA for unofficial visits? “His official visit is not until his senior year. During football season, I don’t know if we have a bye week, and if Georgia has a game that same week. We’ll see where Georgia goes for a bowl game. I’m sure he will want to come back for a camp. He had a lot of fun at Dawg Night, so maybe we’ll come out for Dawg Night again and he’ll sling it around. We’re going to keep in contact with the coaching staff and we’ll see how many times we’ll get connected this season.”

Meanwhile......Jonathan Taylor keeps thUGA in the lead for the Fulmer Cup. Taylor was quoted as saying "I gotta do whut I gots to do foe my team. Dey like family. You know whut I'm sayin? Plus dat beyotch disrepecked me". Film at 11.

the dogs are signing so many superstars, i've lost count! mark this down---these dogs will be dominating the sec starting next year with all this talent. Alabama and auburn are going down! dogs on top!

I was thinking just the other day "when will we get that big time blue chip QB now that Aaron Murray is gone" and then WHAAAAAM!..........There's Eason........Good interview with Dad, sounds like a great father who is helping his son learn to be a man by planning for the future.........This would have been a good story even if he was going to another school........but just..........WOOOW! he's gonna be a GEEEEOOORRRGIA BULLDOG........By the time he is in his college prime, Pruitt will have the defense loaded and well greased..........Lord knows I'm looking forward to slapping around some of these Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, types and have them trembling when the name Georgia is spoken [ we'll beat 'em before he gets here, but we'll really get 'em then]..........A GREAT DAY TO BE A DAWG................RED

I am assuming that the recruit from somewhere in South Florida that robbed people this past weekend at the Georgia camp will not commit to Georgia anytime soon.....or anywhere else for that matter. Stupid does what stupid is....and this kid, whoever he is, is really, really stupid.

Great Kid with great parents from the interview, now to the inside info, I know some of you recruit gurus have an idea who did the 5 finger discount at the UGA dorms, any ideas who? I know he was from south Florida that's it.

Hilarious. Pinning the hopes on a junior in High School. Oh how pathetic. And funny too. The two guys the article compared him to...Stafford and Murray...have a fat goose egg of championships. What a goal for Eason to strive for.

This will probably get him kicked off the team because the last infraction was overlooked but I would like to know exactly what happened , what time, at whose apartment. Were either drunk? A lot of questions but Richt has no leeway for physical violence as it should be but something like this just never happens out of the blue. There were a lot of warnings that this relationship had run it's course and should have already been history. But, it would be nice to know all the specific details.

@Rick_James I had a little earlier in the blog. Its hard to find sometimes. Really I wasn't being negative, I was just wondering why this kid isn't really being recruited by the major west coast teams when he lives on the west coast.

That funny VC. Especially coming from a fan whose school offers scholarships like candy on Halloween night. Alabama offers every kid in the country, from 8th to 12 grade. Go play with the kids. Wait I think I hear your sister, I mean wife calling you. Sorry, sometimes I get confused with you tide fans.

@VC80 Dude, you really don't know what you're talking about. Stafford and Murray are two of the best pure pocket passers the SEC has produced since the Manning brothers. And this is coming from an Auburn fan. I hate UGA but they have a track record of attracting high quality QBs.

@DawgGoneIt@RangeRover Murray the Midget WAS 6-1???? Are you joking? Murray was maybe 5-11 AT MOST. I stood next to him one time and I am 6 feet even....he was shorter than me. Don't believe the media guides. They will print anything Richt tells them to.

@FireSomebody@Mr. Negative auburn usually waits for the guys to mature a little and perfect their craft of stealing once they get to a college before they will accept them. Tennessee on the other hand likes thieves straight from high school. ask deion bonner

@Aubie01@VC80 I don't care if you are an Auburn fan, LSU fan, Bama fan, whatever. Doesn't change the fact that Murray and Stafford underachieved at UGA. Spin it however you want. The posters on this website and in this thread always hide behind the idea that Richt and Bobo can develop quarterbacks and I don't think it is true, and I have the zero championships to prove it. It takes more than passing numbers to win and being a great "pure pocket passer". It takes heart and character, something Richt never inspires in the kids which is evidenced by key losses in crucial moments throughout the years he has guided the program. Look, if you can't win the SEC with the #1 draft pick in a down year in the SEC...you can't develop squat. Staffords last year UGA was ranked #1 preseason and was loaded. They then proceeded to get pounded by Bama and Florida as usual and then lost to GT. Yeah, Richt did a great job with that class. Lost to Florida 49-10 that year. Also the Bama black out game if I recall. Just embarrassing. Sorry. Don't even get me started on Murray. Couldn't win a big game if his life depended on it.

@VC80 Any championships UGA won under Richt (2002, 2005(, were just from god given talent and things falling together in the schedule. Green and Shockley won their championships because they were better competitors. Stafford always looked uninterested and Murray was just the little kid on the playground never tall enough to ride the ride.

@Hangonsloopy@Aubie01 Because they only measure of one's worth is the number of team accomplishments? It's the SEC and a lot of great players don't win championships for whatever reason. This not swimming or track and field or any other individual sport. Lot a variables in the mix including a decent dose of luck. I guess by your standards Tebow is a better quarterback than Matt Stafford? The NFL disagrees.

@HotDawg Of course it was...there is nothing else to talk about and compare it to...which is my point. When you don't have championships,a ll you can talk about is passing numbers and recruiting rankings, you know, two things that don't mean squat. Using that logic, Murray and Stafford should be hanging out with Timmy Chang. But yeah you are right...if Stafford and Murray had championships on their resume the article wouldn't have mentioned it. You sound real smart.